Adebayor Faces Discipline

Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor is looking at a three-game ban for stepping on former Arsenal teammate Robin van Persie's face. He also might be punished for his goal celebration. The first incident:

I abhor violence. Intentionally injuring another player is just plain wrong (even when Roy Keane did it). But van Persie is such a diver, crybaby, and showoff that the good angel on my right shoulder is having trouble keeping the bad angel on my left shoulder from tee-hee-ing.

Is there anything you can seriously do about that freaking annoying Mercedes ad on the side of the page where the stupid Mercedes car wants to scroll up and/or down the page no matter where I'm at on said page?

So scoring 2 on your old team was not enough. Dude has to face-stomp an old teammate (if reports are to be believed, I understand that van Persie was his friend), and if that wasn't enough he goes and tanuts the Gooners fans. Classy. What a thug and a joke.

@ OWNTF - he should be charged for taunting the Arsenal fans. I believe it's called inciting a riot. One does not have to go too far back in English football history to see how revving up the fans can result in some ugly business. But if you want ancient history - see Milwall v West Ham (from a few weeks ago). Adebayor's double insult could have sparked quite the incident on the weekend. Which could have resulted in people being hurt or worse (which I NEVER condone) and given the England 2018 bid another black eye (which I would have no problem with).

When it's all said and done The FA should nail his thughish a** to the wall for this. I say 5 days total 3 for krumping on van Persie's face and 2 for attempting to incite a riot.

Most of the comments appear to think EA's foot on Van Persie's face was intentional. I'm not sure I would agree with that. He was up in the air and his foot has to land somewhere and it didn't seem to move from its projected landing spot. Now, could he have made more of an effort to avoid contact? Maybe. But did he kick at his face intentionally? As the announcers said, only EA knows. I don't think we can definitively say.

EA has scored a goal in each of Man City's first 4 games, all of which they won. One can only wonder if the powers that be don't like Man City taking a run at the big 4, not only on the field, but in salaries as well.

I don't really mind if an opponent celebrates in front of the opposing supporters. It's the way a player celebrates that can be the problem.

Adebayor could just celebrate from far away or acknowledge his new fans. Instead he runs the entire length of the pitch to taunt them and that is trying to incite a crowd to retaliate. In the end he will just get slapped with a fine for the celebration.

As for the stamp, the man tried to slice his head open. He should be given a lengthy ban for that.

Precisely, JkR - van Persie comes in nasty hard, he's coming in to take Adebayor out. He misses and Adebayor reacts with the stomp. Did Adebayor mean to connect like that? Only he knows. But to suggest that he did not react to the foul (which shows intent) is ridiculous. Now I'm not so sure about the banana thing as this is the first I have heard of it.

Dougmacintyre - sometimes our heros do actually behave badly, be it intentional or as a result of a rush of blood. I am a Man United fan and have never supported/excused Keane's nasty play on Alfie all those years back, or Cantona's antics from time to time, and yes even Roonie's poor behavior towards refs. Yes these guys are our idols but we have a duty, as fans or the team and the game, to call them out when they misbehave. So your conspiracy theory kind made me chuckle there a bit, especially seeing as how the powers that be also stepped in and turned down the form dial on Villa last season as they were just about to upset the holy quartet. Not having a go, dude, but seriously?

JkR- Theres a video (http://www.footytube.com/video/manchester-city-arsenal-sep12-22472) that shows him celebrating in front of the Arsenal fans (around the 9:15 mark). They're definitely throwing something, and now that you say that it does look like those things could be banana peels. Obviously not okaying the stomp, or I suppose running down to the other end of the field for that, but still, across the line.

Wow! I just watched the piece that Jacob was talking about in his post and it does appear seem like the Arsenal fans threw bananas or banana peels at him. Wow!!

Now here's the deal though, were they throwing this stuff at him through-out the game or as a result of his taunting. Not that I am trying to justify either of these disgusting events, but just wondering. I think it's a result of the taunt as any racist behavior through-out the game would not have been tolerated by the stewarts. They don't joke with racist behavior in England. Still, what a trashy, low class and ignorant move by those fans.

"Adebayor did not curse, he did not spit, he certainly did not launch the missile that split open the head of a steward.

He did not wade into the crowd and start throwing right-handers. Just came to rest with a smug look on his face that milked every last moment of his part in Manchester City's victory, and revelled in Arsenal's miserable journey home."

On Jacob's video link there's a good poll for Mr. Goff to consider for future DC United games -- "How did the teams perform?" Your possible answers for each team are Awesome, Great, Average, Lucky and Rubbish.

Punishing him for inciting a riot or whatever is obsurd. They aren't playing in London. What are the Gunners fans going to do, overrun an entire city and the police? Please. He got the card enough said.

Those look like Bananas to me. Arsenal should be forced to play in an empty stadium until they can stop racist D's from filling their fan ranks. Do it to Arsenal and be sure the rest will take heed.

If they are reviewing tape why doesn't RVP get a suspension for trying to tackle from behind? EA is athletic enough to avoid that BS tackle and professional enough to remind RVP that BS like that will cost him. If he didn't step on his face do you think the FA would have reviewed the play? I think not, if players don't self regulate then dangerous tackles/players will plague every game.

I'v said my piece, but just to add some depth to the discussion...I just read some posts on Sky that a Stewart was injured during Adebayor's taunting incident, and though items were thrown no-one said anyting about bananas.

Given the tendency of some English fans for acts of drunken belligerence, triggered by even the slightest perception of insult, Adebayor was in the wrong. Here, we may not have the legal teeth to hold responsible a hatemonger who incites mentally unstable followers to go on human hunting sprees, but the FA doesn't need a criminal code to punish risky behavior by the players.

Wonder why alot of these actions are sanctioned more often than Mexico's action during WCQ play, i.e. Blanco's fake Swine Flu illness that struck him at end of the game and carried him off to waste time..?

If the Arsenal fans at the game enjoyed yelling at Emmanuel Adebayor because they hate him and he did something to make them hate him more thus increasing their enjoyment in insulting him I think he did them a favor. I would charge him with "inciting to hate more and increasing the enjoyment."